ATTORNEY'S STORY OF JUSTICE

Butler Law Firm, LLC is owned and operated by Melinda Inman Butler. Melinda is from Union County, South Carolina and was the first in her family to receive an education after high school.

My Story

Melinda has a deep passion to help people. Her father was sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole when she was just 13 years old. Click Here to read the story. Her single-mother relied on financial government assistance as she raised Melinda and her three younger sisters. Her poor upbringing did not rob her of the joy she experienced within her family unit, and she would not trade that upbringing for any mansion in the sky. She was very intuitive for her age and every time she heard the heavy iron gates slam behind her as she left from visiting her father in prison, as the tears streamed down her face, she would vow to herself that she would one day become a lawyer and get her father out of there.

Little did she know that she would have her first child at the very young age of seventeen and two more children before obtaining even her first step on the long journey to becoming a lawyer. But in 2002, after two years at the local branch of the University of South Carolina, she received her associates degree in science, summa cum laude, with highest honors. She then attended USC Upstate in Spartanburg, South Carolina where she earned her bachelor’s degree of science in criminal justice and graduated from there Magna Cum Laude. Through all of this schooling, Ms. Butler continued to work at the Fish Camp in Buffalo, South Carolina as a waitress. At this time, she did not know what her next step would be, she just trusted that God would open up the right path for her to take. Not very long after graduating sure enough, God opened up a path for her to take, but what he revealed to her was another obstacle that she would have to face. She received a letter from Regent University –a Christian Law School--in Virginia Beach.

Her husband, Jason, stayed back in Union, South Carolina at his job at Milliken’s textile plant, to be able to send money to her for support. After almost a year of supporting her from Union he moved to Virginia Beach to be with her and their children. Melinda’s oldest son Blake often recalls his mother’s hard work and dedication, saying “I used to wake up in the middle of the night to go get some water from the fridge and my Mama would be in the laundry room at 3 in the morning with books spread out everywhere-- studying.”

After graduating law school, Melinda and Jason opened Butler Law Firm (Read More) and she began working relentlessly to get her father out of prison even though everyone told her that it was absolutely impossible. Remember, he was sentenced to life without the chance of parole (Read More). She contacted her father’s previously appointed attorney from the 1990 federal case and explained her story to him. He agreed that it was time for her father, Timothy Blalock, to come home. Through a series of countless hours and persistence in her faith; and after several passing years, the impossible happened. In February 2015, her father walked out into this “free world” after serving 25 years in federal prison (Read More). She will forever be grateful that her father’s parental rights were not stripped away while he was incarcerated. Melinda’s passion for protecting families is deeply embedded and overflows into every case she takes on.

Mission Statement

Our Constitution guarantees justice for all. Attorneys are called upon to see that this right is enforced among the people. As an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of South Carolina I pledge to my clients: faithfulness, competence, and diligence.

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